


Finding Family

by Shut_up_im_Lucky



Series: HollowKnight & Bnha [2]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Attempted Murder, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Child Abuse, Child Abuse, Childhood Trauma, Found Family, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, If you like PK this is not the fic for you, It gets better don't worry, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Siblings, Repressed Memories, Sibling Love, Siblings, The Knight is Called Ghost (Hollow Knight), The Pale King Being an Asshole (Hollow Knight), The Pale King is a Bad Parent (Hollow Knight), They/Them Pronouns for The Vessels (Hollow Knight)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:55:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28353543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shut_up_im_Lucky/pseuds/Shut_up_im_Lucky
Summary: Families are hard, some harder than others.But you don't get much worse than having a father who wants to either make you a sacrifice or just wants you dead.Doesn't mean you can't make your own family
Relationships: Broken Vessel | Lost Kin & The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & Hornet & The Knight, The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & The Knight, The Knight & The Pale King (Hollow Knight)
Series: HollowKnight & Bnha [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1961191
Comments: 5
Kudos: 49





	Finding Family

**Author's Note:**

> Why are fight scenes SO HARD!?  
> Why the fuck did I not give Ghost a name this chapter do you have any idea how hard it is to write 3rd person limited perspective for a character with NO NAME!?

They never liked Their father.

What reason would They have to like him? He does not like Them, so why should They like him? They may be little, but They’re smart, & They’ve seen the way he looks at Them & Their siblings, no warmth or love in his eyes. Not like Miss Herrah, who looks at Sister Hornet like she’s the most perfect thing in the world. No, They do not love him, because _he_ never loved Them, never loved Their siblings.

They just wish Their siblings would realize that.

Their siblings should know better really, that's why their undying love for him is so baffling to the smallest child. Maybe he gives their siblings some affection, affection he doesn’t give to Them. Because they have what he wants, they both have that quirk he desires so much, unlike Them.

They hear Father’s discussions with Mother about how the smallest child might only have their family’s physical mutations, how the secondary quirk (which he calls _soul_ ) should have manifested already, how he should just get rid of Them already. Mother would always convince him not to, saying things like “it survived the tests,” & “it helps fix up the pure vessel when it's done training.” Their place here must really be fragile if _Mother’s_ words were the only thing keeping Them there. 

Their Mother was mostly apathetic to the sibling’s suffering, she cared for sister hornet, that much was obvious, with all of her giggles & smiles when sister was around. She didn’t do that around the siblings, at least not with the same warmth, she didn’t care about Them, she didn’t love _Them_. 

They held themselves back, They had been for months after They heard that conversation. Putting a mask of coldness in the presence of Their parents, making Themself as harder to notice, easy to ignore. They couldn’t risk drawing attention or acting out. If They were a nuisance father would get rid of Them, & that couldn’t happen, Their siblings needed them, they needed Them until they finally understood that Mother & Father don’t care.

But the facade was hard to maintain now, biggest sibling (who Mother & Father started to refer to as “Pure Vessel,” so the siblings started calling them Pure) had started more intensive training with Father. When Pure came back from that training, they were always bruised, bleeding, or crying, sometimes all at once. The black wounds would stand out against Pure’s white skin like spilt ink on paper, these training sessions gave Them a lot of experience with the first aid kit. They dealt with it much better than Their Flying sibling, it was the only time They put the cold facade up around their siblings. Is it to keep Themself calm so They can help Pure, or to stop Themself from confronting Their parents? They aren’t sure, but each night it happens leaves a crack in the cold mask put up.

A part of Them screams that it’s unfair, that They’re the youngest (probably, Miss Herrah _says_ that They’re two years younger than Sister Hornet & Their flying sibling, and who were They to disagree?), that They shouldn’t have this responsibility. But They ignore it, They know that if They had Soul like Their siblings had, they wouldn’t need to be responsible.

Their siblings are naive, they don’t realize that they can’t win Father’s affection, for he has none. They do not blame Pure & flying sibling, They just wish They had that _stupid_ quirk Father cared so much about. So They could protect Their siblings from his training.

They would try sometimes, doing something to distract Father from whatever sibling he wanted to train that day. Breaking something, drawing on the walls, making noise, anything that would draw his or Mother’s attention. It worked, it always did.

They hated doing it, the satisfaction of protecting Their siblings diminished that feeling, but They still hated doing it because of what came after.

There was a closet in the house, one mostly painted black instead of the white color the other doors were. The closet had no lights and nothing in it, despite the fact it was a rather large storage space. Whenever They did something out of line, Father put Them in there.

They still remember the first time They were put inside, it was during one of Pure’s sparring sessions with father, shortly after he stopped training with Them, but before flying sibling and sister hornet were around. They had peeked in during it to find their elder sibling bleeding and crying, and They had decided that They had to do _something_ . They ended up throwing a vase against a wall, and locking eyes with father when he came to investigate. He stood there for a moment seemingly accessing the situation before picking Them up by Their arm, carrying them to _that_ closet.

They had started by panicking by then, trying desperately to get out of their Father’s grip before They could learn what punishment he would give Them, but to no avail. He reached the closet and threw Them inside. As he was closing the door They noticed Pure standing at the end of the hall, and Their eyes met Pure’s, staring at each other before the door closed and plunged Them into pitch black darkness.

They pounded on the door, tugged at the handle, but the door had not budged. Inky black tears streaked down Their face, but They couldn’t even see the door that trapped Them, so the tears went unnoticed.

They don’t know how long They were in there, only that They felt weak and hungry when the door finally opened. Blinding Them as They recoiled from the sudden light. They had almost collapsed three times before reaching Them & Pure’s room, Pure had tackled Them in a hug as soon as They stepped in. Their sibling was shaking when it happened, so They simply hugged back.

Pure was never put in the closet, neither had Hornet, none of the siblings knew why he didn’t, They Themself assumed it had to do with Herrah. Flying sibling had been in there once or twice, but They don’t think Their sibling spent as long in there. Since the flying sibling hadn’t nearly collapsed either time.

None of Their siblings hated the closest as much as They did, because none of siblings were put in there as much as They were. But that was okay, that means They were doing well protecting them, and that was Their only use since They lacked Soul. It made them happy to at least be able to do this.

* * *

Sister Hornet’s visits were a welcomed relief, even when Ms. Herrah wasn’t there. Father & Mother usually left the siblings alone when Sister was around, & even when Father did take Pure for training he wouldn’t do any sparring.

Sister Hornet always made the siblings feel better, Pure would forget to put on their regal act with her, it was the only time they relaxed. Flying sibling always loved having their twin around, even if they usually get their horns tangled with hers. And she always shared the berries she brought with Them, even if They did have to barter for the blackberries.

It was a shame she was there that night.

Ms. Herrah was on patrol, so Sister Hornet was staying the night with her siblings. It had been a mostly pleasant evening, Hornet was showing Flying sibling some string patterns with her silk, her twin happily leaning on her shoulder as they watched. While They were skimming through some books They “borrowed” from Mother, They couldn’t read most of it, but the part of learning They liked the most was diving in head first to figure things out. So overall they were having a nice quiet night reading, occasionally applauding Hornet for her tricks & laughing silently at the fanged grins she would give back.

“What are you reading?” Their sister asks from behind Them, gesturing to the book, They hand it to her & she looks at it with furrowed brows. “Isn’t this one of the books Ms. White keeps in Father’s study so we can’t get to them?”

They nod, puffing out Their chest proudly, it took a lot of waiting to figure out how to sneak in without Mother & Father noticing. Sister Hornet starts to laugh as flying sibling looks over her shoulder in curiosity.

“You’re always getting in & out of places you shouldn’t,” She says in her laughs, “You’re like a ghost little sibling!”

They would have beamed if they could, but even though They couldn’t, Sister Hornet seems to get the message. Her giggles fill the room as a warm feeling blossoms in Their chest, it’s a nice happy moment for Them.

Then the moment was shattered by a loud crash downstairs.

They were out the door first, running down stairs as fast as Their little legs could possibly carry them. Sister and her twin caught up quickly, using flying sibling’s wings to save time. Despite the house’s humongous size, it didn’t take long for the trio to find the source of the crash. It came from the training room, from their father and eldest sibling.

Their father was wearing his usual white robes, his white hair kept in a tight bun in the middle of the crown-like horns that adorned the top of his head. 

The training room was large and sparsely furnished, made so those sparring in it had plenty of room to move. There were a few wooden shelves and racks of course, to hold various weapons and items, but besides that it was practically empty.

That made it all the more easy to see a bloodied and bruised Pure laying among the pieces of what used to be a shelf.

Their eldest sibling's skin looked more black then white, gray bruises litter their body while black blood ran down their face. A black splotch stained the silver walls above the teen, their head turned slightly towards Them and the others. Pure’s chest rose and fell at a rate implying that they were gasping for air, eyelids drooping and tears going down their face, they were barely conscious and in a lot of pain.

They felt something in them shatter.

Hornet and her twin bolted towards Pure, shouting something They could not hear. The two of them panicking as they looked over their bleeding sibling. 

But rather than joining Their siblings in taking care of Pure, They instead set Their gaze on Father. Studying his face, he looks bored, annoyed, and a little... disappointed?

_How dare he?_

_How DARE he!?_

_Pure is EVERYTHING he wanted them to be! Strong, fast, smart, and they even have that STUPID quirk he cares so much about!_

_And yet he DARES to beat them to the inch of their life and be DISAPPOINTED when they lose consciousness?!_

Hornet and flying sibling start to carry Pure, they struggle, but if the eldest sibling wasn’t so light wouldn’t have been able to do it. Father’s face starts to become a scowl as they start heading out of the room, and he takes a step towards them.

 _No_ They think to themself

_I won’t let this continue_

They grab one of Pure’s old nails off a rack (it’s much too small for their sibling now, but the perfect size for Them), and quickly block Their fathers path.

“Move out of the way,” he says to them, voice deep and commanding.

They don’t yield, and Their grip tightens around the nail.

“ _Move_ you useless vessel,” he repeats, glaring at Them as he realized they were refusing to step down, “Maybe I’ll just let you starve in the dark after this.”

They flinch at his mention of the closet, but They don’t falter. Two orbs of glowing white energy start forming behind and in the hands of Their father, and then They blink, and he’s holding a glowing spear in one of his hands, and the orbs became disks. Quickly spinning with a quiet hum, Father launches a hand out towards Them, and with it one of the disks flew towards Them at a high speed.

They rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding the disk, then started to run as the second one started to fly at Them. When the disk hits the ground they dive at the man, catching him making two more disks, before the disks start spinning, They see that the disks have serrated edges.

_Buzzsaws_

_Of he was using buzzsaws_

They made an attempt to strike back but were easily blocked. And just as quickly as Father had deflected their attack, he threw a disk. They were able to dodge, but wasn't lucky enough and it grazed across Their shoulder. Instantly bruning through their clothes. Once the disk had made contact with their body, there was a cold burning sensation pulsing through their wound. If only They had a voice to scream with.

Hitting the floor, They clutched their shoulder. They saw a sliver blur in the corner of their eyes and rolled over in time as a spear pierced through the floor, not more than two inches from Their head. 

They quickly got up, knowing their father wasn't going to wait for them. Trying again, They swung Their nail at him. It wasn’t close or fast enough to hit as another disk form and turned into a buzzsaw. They jumped back. 

Another opening was presented and again They swung, this time, Father had to dodge and step back. Now looking a bit irritated. Running towards him, They felt something under the ground getting closer. 

Once the floor was moving under them and something poking out they jumped back as a row of spears shot up.

As they went back and disappeared back into the ground, another buzz saw was thrown Their way. Quickly ducking, then feeling the same feeling of the ground moving, They jumped, away once the buzzsaw had gone. Avoiding the spears. Mid air Father threw two spears their way. 

The spears were big enough to support them. So They stepped on them to gain momentum and charged the man. His eyes go wide for a few seconds, a satisfying feeling for Them to see. About to finally land a hit on him, Their father had to quickly form a spear used to block Their nail. 

They kept pushing despite knowing it would be almost impossible to have an old weapon like Theirs to have the ability to cut through Father's Soul made spears.

Another row had risen, They didn't even notice until They felt the tip of a spear around Their rib. At this point Their wounds felt almost numb. All attention was on Their father.

They launch Themself away, falling to the ground, almost letting their nail slip. Not letting either of them have a slight chance of recovering, They readjusted the hold on Their nail and slashed upwards. It was enough to cut Their father. They could see red and blood dripping. If They could smirk, they would. 

A scowl deepens on the man’s face. He grabbed Them by the collar of their dull grey shirt and threw them across the room. Throwing two disks that formed buzzsaws along the way.

Crashing into the ground yet again with two flaming hot buzzsaws coming Their way was not fun. With trembling limbs They only just barely dodged the disks,and desperately tried to ignore the burning sensation as one graved Their horn. Their vision blurred as they saw Their father's figure getting closer to them. They struggled to keep Their body from shaking and to have a proper hold on their weapon.

"This was unnecessary and a waste of time." Their father says. 

His footsteps were getting louder, time was running shorter. Everything felt slower. They needed to get up. They needed to attack. For everything that man had done to Their siblings, for what he had to Pure. _Pure_. The perfect vessel, his favorite child, his most valued product. That's how he treats them. 

_Disgusting_. 

They needed to defend. Defend their siblings because They were the only one who knew and understood the harsh reality of their existence and purpose. They needed to protect Their siblings from any more harm by that man, it was the only thing They were good for. If They were going to die, then They'll be damned if They don't kill Their father with them. They're effort won't be for nothing 

"You should've backed down when you had the chance." Father finishes. The man looms over Them, forming another spear, with just enough time to use the last of their energy, to tackle Their father. 

He needed to die, so They would kill him if it was the last thing They did. They can barely focus on Their surroundings now. Their vision was hazy and limbs feeling numb. They didn’t even notice when he threw Them off until They were rising back to their knees. They hear Father release a spell behind Them, it sounds different than the spears and disks, They need to get up, They _need_ to get up. Turn around, never turn your back on an opponent, move, _move,_ **_move_ **.

The spell hits Their back, and the first thing They think is _why does my back feel rippley?_

And then everything **_burns_ **

The pain flows through Their body like a raging inferno and the child has never wished for a voice more than at that moment as some instinct in Their body begs for them to scream.

The world snaps back into focus with painful clarity, They stare at the polished white marble floor as Their free arm claws at Their shirt. Small drops of black fall down onto the stone and it Their brain belatedly realizes it’s a mixture of blood and tears.

They don’t notice Their father walking up to Their small huddled form, nor do They notice the spear he summons. All They can do is burn the black puddles on the otherwise perfect white floors into Their memory as the spear is brought down upon Their head, and They fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

The only reason They knew They were awake was because of the pain.

It still hurt, it hurt a lot. But it no longer felt like a raging inferno, and They can feel things other than pain, like the uncomfortably squishy floor They’re laying on. So They slowly, and carefully, attempted to get up, only for Their horns to bonk on something metal. They flinch at the sudden and unexpected sound in what was otherwise a silent place.

They place a hand on the roof again, sighing in relief as it easily opens up for Them. It turns out They’re in a dumpster, which explained the gross smell They didn’t pay much attention to. They slowly climb out, trying not to irritate the burning feeling in Their back.

It’s still night, that’s the first thing They notice, it’s so dark that They can’t see Themself. But Their pitch black skin is easy to lose track of at night so that’s not saying much. They look around to find Themself in an alleyway, looking out into the streets and nearby buildings for recognizable things doesn’t help much for Their location. They try to figure out what to do but it's hard for Them to concentrate with the rising panic in Their chest and burning pain in their body. 

The air and concrete is cold but the burning in Their back still makes them feel unbearably hot and the stinging in their shoulder and ribs is back. There’s no way to see it but They can feel the bruising from the throws, the pain and the panic is too much and They fall to Their knees, which causes an uncomfortable scraping from the concrete.

It’s all too much, tears start going down Their face again because They’re _scared_ and _mad_ and everything hurts so goddamn much. The pain is unbearable, they just want it to stop.

And then it does

There's no throbbing from the bruises, the sting in Their ribs has vanished. It’s so abrupt that They gasp and pat where the bruises were, and… nothing, no sting, no ache, no nothing. They focus on getting the pain to stop again as a test and suddenly Their stops pulsing with pain, and the burning, while not completely gone, is noticeably lessened.

They can heal Themself?

_They can heal Themself!_

So much excitement and joy at having a quirk rushes through Them at the revelation They almost forget Their predicament. 

They can’t go back, that would be a death sentence, even if They do have a quirk Their father wouldn’t care, he’d finish what he started. And maybe this will finally show Their siblings what was really happening, that Mother and Father didn’t really love them. 

Maybe… Maybe They can start a new life? Forget about everything, and start over?

They look back into the dumpster and to Their surprise, find the nail They used till inside it. They snatch it and hold it close, They’ll need something to defend Themself with. A shiver goes up Their spine and They suddenly realize that there's a huge hole in Their shirt where Their father's spell hit Them. That’ll create unwanted questions, rummaging in some less smelly garbage bags They find what was probably once a beautiful royal blue shawl. But now there's a huge tear in the front, and the colors have faded into a greyish blue.

_The fabric is sturdy, can I wear it as a cloak?_

It’s loose, but the shawl does fit enough to work as a warm cloak. They feel proud of Themself, the pride fades as They remember Their siblings, They would never see them again, They were leaving them behind.

 _It’s good for them, my disappearance will show them not to trust our father._ They think to Themself, repeating it like a mantra, scrubbing Their white eyes for any tears. What had Sister Hornet said?

 _“You’re always getting in and out of places you shouldn’t, you’re like a_ **_ghost_ ** _!”_

A Ghost

They could be a Ghost


End file.
